


confusion and cuddles

by Mintyaegyo



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Canon Compliant, Crying, Cuddling, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Little Space, M/M, Non AU, Non-Sexual, Sleepy Cuddles, Storms, bubble baths, fear of storms, fluffiest fluff, little wooyoung - Freeform, soft, soft seonghwa, stress and anxiety, thumb sucking, worried seonghwa, worried yeosang
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:34:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25622233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mintyaegyo/pseuds/Mintyaegyo
Summary: Wooyoung regresses without realizing it after practice, and starts to act weird during dinner.Seonghwa ends up taking care of him.
Relationships: Jung Wooyoung/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 36
Kudos: 192





	1. sleepy

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this instead of doing chores. I was inspired and I can’t remember why but here 
> 
> *throws super soft woohwa at you*

Wooyoung had always been a free spirit, always a fun loving and shy boy. Whenever he did anything chaotic or childish, none of the members ever batted an eye. Not when he was always clinging onto San or Seonghwa, not when he whined and pouted when he was served vegetables for dinner, and not when he begged to watch the tv for just _a little bit_ longer before he was kicked to bed. 

Today, Wooyoung felt weird. His head felt cloudy inside and he wasn’t quite focused. He wasn’t sure entirely what was wrong but it was like his brain was on the edge of sleep, but his body wasn’t sleepy. And everything San said today was absolutely hilarious.

Practice had been really short today, it was mostly just to go over who had part in which song for their new comeback, and a short overview of the choreography. Jongho’s leg was still resting up, so they didn’t want to strain it too much before comeback. They were on their way to stop for food before they went home for the day, and Wooyoung was squished between San and Yeosang in the van. Well, not particularly squished- he was cuddled up against San and it felt nice, and warm. San absently rubbed Wooyoung’s side. It was something he’d always done, but Wooyoung felt really comforted by it today and he felt his eyelids drooping a little bit as he giggled at the banter between San and Yunho from the backseat. 

Before he knew it, Yeosang was shaking him awake. 

“Young-ah, Wooyoung, we’re here.” Yeosang calls softly, and Wooyoung blinks his eyes, frowning as the bright light and his best friend’s face comes into view. He didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep, and he felt his stomach drop for a moment. He was comfy, and he didn’t want to get up. 

“Nuh.” Wooyoung pouted, nuzzling his face into San’s shoulder. San chuckles softly, patting Wooyoung’s head. 

“Someone’s tired from practice~” San smiles, loving the cuddles despite being starving and wanting to get on with it. San was such a tactile person, and like Wooyoung he was happy when any of the boys attached themselves to him. “We didn’t do much today, though.” San teases Wooyoung a little before pushing him away gently. “Seriously though, Woo, I gotta pee, let’s go.”

“Hongjoong hyung might not be happy if we take to long.” Yeosang adds in with a hum, brushing his blonde hair out of his face. Wooyoung whines and pouts a little more, blinking his big eyes up at Yeosang while slowly detaching himself from San. _But San was so warm and comfy._ He feels a little bit of fear strike in his heart, not wanting Hongjoong to be mad at him. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that he just felt _weird_ today. “Wooyoung, are you okay?” Yeosang frowns for a moment. 

Wooyoung squeaks and nods quickly, blinking. Was he okay? Yeah, he was okay. Before even thinking he reaches both hands out for Yeosang to help him out of the car. Yeosang looks confused for a moment, but just chuckles and grabs onto Wooyoung’s hands, pulling the younger boy up and standing onto the concrete. San hops out after, bowing and thanking the driver. Wooyoung thought he felt lightheaded for a moment, and opted to keep his hand holding Yeosang’s, leaning against his older friend. 

Yeosang, however didn’t completely believe Wooyoung was okay. Wooyoung was quiet and he looked a little out of it. He wasn’t usually this clingy unless he was feeling sick. Yeosang makes a mental note to keep an eye on his friend. The entire time they walk to the restaurant, Wooyoung is like glue on Yeosang. When they get inside, Wooyoung suddenly feels like he’s really shy and lets out a tiny squeak as he squeezes Yeosang’s hand. 

They get to the table where everyone else is sitting and he hears Yunho and Mingi cheer, and glasses clinking. Wooyoung forgets about being shy for a moment and cheers with them, excited to see his friends. He claps happily before plopping down on San’s lap as they sit down. 

“Woo-“ San squeaks, letting out a soft laugh as he wraps his arms around the younger. “I can’t eat when you’re in my lap, dude.” The other boys laughed, thinking Wooyoung was being funny like usual, but Wooyoung genially felt like he needed to sit on San’s lap- anyone’s lap, really. He felt clingy, and part of him wondered _why_ he felt so clingy, but most of him just wanted to feel warm and comfortable with his closest friends.

Wooyoung let’s out a small whine, feeling the fuzzy feeling in his head expand like a cotton candy cloud and he felt himself _falling._ The sounds were overwhelming and the weird feeling inside him felt overwhelming. He felt confused and he presses himself closer into San with a pout. San blinks, looking around to Hongjoong and Seonghwa for help. 

“Wooyoung?” Hongjoong tilts his head, lips pursed. “Are you feeling okay?” The leader leans over the table, eyes searching the two younger boys. Mingi and Yunho are animatedly discussing a part in the choreography, Yunho’s hand holding his water glass. Wooyoung blinks over at Hongjoong, eyes big and innocent. 

“W-Woo… ‘m okay.” Wooyoung mumbles, nodding as if to confirm his answer. Speech suddenly felt really hard, like his mouth didn’t want to move properly. 

“Did you just address yourself in third person?” Hongjoong scrunches his nose in dissatisfaction with the answer. Wooyoung hums, brows furrowing. 

“Hm?” Wooyoung, despite feeling weird and a little anxious, giggled. Hongjoong hyung looked really cute scrunching his nose like that, and Wooyoung reaches over the table to _boop_ the leader on the nose. “Nose.” 

Hongjoong let’s out a squawk and Wooyoung claps and giggles, satisfied with the elder’s reaction. Hongjoong made funny sounds when you poked him, so he reached his hand out to boop Hongjoong again, but Yeosang, sitting next to them put a stop to it. 

“Wooyoung.” The blonde said, putting a hand on Wooyoung’s shoulder. “What are you doing?” 

Wooyoung turned to Yeosang. What was he doing? Yeosang was frowning and he didn’t want to see Yeosang frown, so he pouted. 

“Sangie mad?” Wooyoung mumbles, looking at Yeosang as he wiggled a little on San’s lap. He felt shy under Yeosang’s gaze. 

“What? Why would I be-“ Yeosang tilted his head, humming as he took a sip of his Cola. “No, I’m not mad, you dummy. You’re just acting a little…” 

Wooyoung’s eyes widened and his pout got even bigger. Yeosang called him a dummy! Yeosang was supposed to be his friend. He wasn’t dumb, that was mean! 

“What he’s trying to say is, Young, you’re acting a little.. weird.” San adds in, resting his chin on Wooyoung’s head. Hongjoong then gets distracted, because Seonghwa’s come back with some plates from the buffet for them to all share. 

Now they were calling him weird _and_ a dummy? Wooyoung felt his bottom lip wobble and before he even realized it, his mind too fuzzy, tears fell from his eyes. 

Yeosang gasps, frowning in concern. Why the heck was Wooyoung crying? Was he really not feeling well? 

“Wooyoung, what’s wrong? Hey, why?” Yeosang asks in a gentler voice, understanding at least that Wooyoung was in a sensitive state at the moment. 

Wooyoung sniffles, twisting and trying to hide his face in San’s shoulder. “No dummy.. ‘m not, ‘m not weird..” He whines into the fabric of San’s black t-shirt, and San rubs his back softly in an effort to soothe. He exchanges a confused look with Yeosang. 

“We didn’t mean it that way, you know that.” Yeosang explains to the crying boy. “You know that, you call me an idiot literally all the time.” 

Wooyoung just sniffles, clinging onto San, craving all the warmth and comfort he can get at the moment. He didn’t know why he was crying and he didn’t know why he felt so sensitive and the fuzziness, the weird feeling just kept building up inside his chest. He hiccups softly. 

“Is everything okay, guys?” Seonghwa’s soft voice has Yeosang and San turning to look up at the eldest, who’s frowning as he’s chewing on a chicken wing. “It’s not like you to not notice chicken, Yeosang-ah.”

Yeosang lets out a soft giggle brushing his hair out of his face. 

“Ah, hyung. There’s…”

“I don’t think Wooyoung is feeling well.” San finishes Yeosang’s thought, pouting at Seonghwa, who’s brows furrow as he sets his attention fully onto the boy who’s curled up against San. He makes his way around the table, then crouching in front of San so he was presumed eye level with the younger boy. 

“Wooyoung-ah. Can you look at me please?” Seonghwa commands in a soft voice. Wooyoung peeks his eyes out from San, wide and blinking his tears away. Seonghwa pouts. Wooyoung was _crying._

Everything was too loud and overwhelming for Wooyoung. He feels all wiggly inside his chest, and now sleepy. Was he hungry? Seonghwa hyung was speaking to him in a soft voice and that felt much warmer to him than Yeosang’s _dummy_ and at that moment Wooyoung wanted nothing more than to be embraced by his oldest hyung, so he unwraps his arms from around San and reaches out for Seonghwa. 

Seonghwa frowns and tilts his head in confusion, but takes Wooyoung from San’s lap and wraps him in his own arms, patting the black haired boy’s back softly. 

“What’s wrong?” Seonghwa hums softly to him, letting him cling. Wooyoung just sniffles and shakes his head into Seonghwa’s chest. “Are you feeling sick? Anxious?” And Wooyoung just didn’t know. He just wanted Seonghwa to hold him because he felt too small. _Small._ “Come with me, let’s go to the bathroom, yeah?” Seonghwa stands up fully, keeping an arm tightly around Wooyoung and leads him over to the bathroom, signaling to Yeosang to make sure they knew. 

When they get into the bathroom, Seonghwa pulls away from Wooyoung to get a good look at him. Wooyoung blinks up at the oldest with big eyes, fiddling with sleeves of his red hoodie, before rubbing his eyes like a child. 

“Now we’ve got some privacy.” Seonghwa tells him, eyeing him with concern. “Will you tell hyung what’s going on?” 

Wooyoung just shrugs. He sniffles, running his thumb over his lips. He felt an overwhelming urge to put it in his mouth. 

“F-feel funny, hyungie.” Wooyoung murmurs with a pout, shuffling his feet a little. 

“How do you feel funny?” Seonghwa asks, noting that Wooyoung had called him _hyungie_. Wooyoung did get anxious often, and tended to say he felt weird then, but he’d never used that terminology before. “Is it anxiety?”

“A-what?” Wooyoung asks frowning, not moving his thumb from his mouth. All these questions were making him feel annoyed and stressed out and he just wanted to cuddle. “Wan’ hyungie.”

“You.. want me?” Seonghwa asks, even more confused now. This absolutely was not how Wooyoung usually acted and it had him worried. Wooyoung just simply nodded, reaching out both arms for Seonghwa. He sniffles, looking up with his wide eyes. In that moment, he looked so small and innocent and Seonghwa would be lying if he said his heart didn’t hurt. 

“Hug, for Woo?” Wooyoung mumbles shyly and it was then Seonghwa wrapped his strong arms around the younger boy, wanting to give all of the comfort to him. It was clear Wooyoung was a little bit out of it. 

“Of course, baby.” Seonghwa murmurs, rubbing his back softly, soothing him. Wooyoung lets out a tiny squeak at the nickname and nuzzles into Seonghwa’s shoulder. It was then he finally stuck his thumb in his mouth and started sucking on it. Seonghwa holds Wooyoung for a moment, as the younger closed his eyes, feeling more comfortable now that his hyung’s arms were around him. Seonghwa feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulls it out- it was probably one of the boys worrying.

**Yeosang:** is young ok? he was acting rly weird hyung, San and I are worried 

Seonghwa types a quick reply back, keeping the younger boy securely against him. 

**Seonghwa:** he won’t tell me what’s wrong, nothing happened at practice to upset him right? 

**Yeosang:** I would have noticed that. Did he stop crying?

**Seonghwa** : yeah, seems out of it though. He did go to sleep last night right? I know he wanted to finish reading that manhwa 

**Yeosang:** I think so but I was asleep 

Seonghwa hums, not really feeling any closer to the answer than he was before. He decided it would be best to just care for the younger boy in the moment and worry about the reason later. 

Wooyoung then looks up at Seonghwa again, hiccuping a little still bit looking way more calm. Innocent. “Hyungie?” He asks in a small voice. “Hungry.” 

“You’re hungry?” Seonghwa asks, sliding his phone back into the pocket of his joggers. The way Wooyoung was speaking seemed a little odd. “Do you think you’re feeling okay to go back to the table?” 

The younger boy nods, not removing his thumb from his mouth. 

“You- Uh, your thumb, Wooyoung-ah.” Seonghwa then says, causing the younger boy to squeak and turn red, pulling his thumb out of his mouth. His lips start to wobble again and Seonghwa nearly panics. “Oh no! I don’t.. just, it’s dirty and you could get sick if you put your fingers in your mouth, you know? Let’s go eat. You can sit with me if you’re more comfortable with that?” 

Wooyoung pouts but nods, chewing on his sleeve instead and Seonghwa supposes that will have to do for now until he can get Wooyoung distracted and eating something, hopefully. Seonghwa takes Wooyoung’s hand, leading him to the table where 6 watching pairs of eyes are waiting for them. Wooyoung waddles behind Seonghwa, shyly sucking on his hoodie sleeve. Seonghwa sits down back in his seat, and Wooyoung plops himself down softly in Seonghwa’s lap, a faraway shy look in his eyes. 

San exchanges a look with Yeosang again.

“Is he okay, Hwa?” Hongjoong asks, turning to them as they sit down. Seonghwa hums, tilting his head in thought before nodding. 

“He’s a little out of it, but I think it’s just… anxiety.” Seonghwa hums again, thinking about how strange Wooyoung’s speech pattern was. Hongjoong nods, using his chopsticks to eat a piece of bulgogi, letting out a happy noise. Wooyoung repeats Hongjoong’s little noise, cuddling his body close to Seonghwa’s. “Are- are you tired, Woo? I thought you said you were hungry?”

Wooyoung then nods, turning to the food at the table, taking it all in. Everything smelled so good, and he wasn’t sure where to start. He looks up at Seonghwa expectantly. 

“Yeah? Go ahead, eat anything you want, you don’t need my permission.” Seonghwa tells him, sipping his drink, lips delicate around the straw. 

Wooyoung blinks with a little pout. “Hyungie give?” 

Seonghwa seems a little taken aback, Wooyoung still acting different. “Give what? You can reach it, are you hurt?” 

Wooyoung shakes his head, eyes wide. “Hyungie do it.” 

“I..think he wants you to make his plate for him, hyung.” San explains with a half amused chuckle. “He’s.. acting like a little kid.”

Ah, that was it. Something finally clicked in Seonghwa’s head- Wooyoung was behaving like his little cousins. The way he was talking, the way he was chewing on his sleeve.. it was a little bit concerning to say the least, and he made a mental note to look it up when they finished and got back into the car. Right now, his concern was feeding the boy, hopefully helping him feel normal again. 

“Is there any specific dish you’d like, Wooyoung-ah?” Seonghwa asks the dark haired boy on his lap, and Wooyoung thinks with a little pout before nodding. 

“Chick’n.” Wooyoung hums, pointing at the chicken wings, most of his hand covered by his sleeve. “Looks yummy.” 

“Ah it does, doesn’t it? It’s really good.” San tells Wooyoung, giving him a thumbs up, dimples showing as he grins. 

“San hyungie says it is.” Wooyoung nods at Seonghwa, who chuckles softly and takes Wooyoung’s plate, placing a few chicken wings on it, as well as some beef and rice. 

“Make sure you drink your water too, okay Wooyoung?” The younger boy nods, reaching for his glass with both hands and sipping through the straw. 

“Cute.” San coos softly. 

Wooyoung finishes his chicken, getting sauce on his face. Seonghwa is quick to wipe the sauce off with a soft laugh, shaking his head. 

“Always so messy, jeez. You and Hongjoong.” 

Wooyoung giggles. 

“Now finish the rest of it, you can’t just have chicken wings. You need carbs too.” 

Wooyoung looks down at his rice and chopsticks and then looks back up at Seonghwa expectantly, with his big brown eyes. 

“What’s the problem? Are you feeling sick?”

Wooyoung points to the chopsticks. “H-hyungie do it?” He asks in a small voice. Seonghwa gives him an incredulous look. Not that it wasn’t normal for the boys to often share food and feed each other in fondness, but none of them have really blatantly _asked_ to be fed before. Seonghwa picks up the chopsticks, getting a mouthful and holding it up to Wooyoung’s mouth. Wooyoung grins, scrunching his nose and chews happily. 

~ 

They make it through the dinner; Hongjoong uses the company’s card to pay for the meal, and they all pile into the van to make their way home. Wooyoung continues to cling to Seonghwa, curling up against the eldest boy and closing his eyes. It takes him an entire minute before he’s fallen asleep and Seonghwa pats his back softly before pulling out his phone. 

“Hyung, is Wooyoung really okay? He was acting like a five year old.” Jongho comments, leaning his arms over the seat. Seonghwa just hums, brows furrowed. 

“That’s.. well, I’m going to.. look it up. He might just be really tired.” Seonghwa tells the youngest, opening the search app on his phone. He types in ‘my friend is acting like a child what do I do’ and scrolls down, eyes scanning the articles for something relevant- it wasn’t. He thinks for a moment with a huff on how to rephrase his search. He types in ‘suddenly acting childlike’. There was stuff about dementia, toxic friends, schizophrenia.. the only one that seemed relevant was age regression, so he clicks on the article and reads it. He finds that age regression is when a person’s brain actually does regress to the age of a child. It could be any age, baby to teenager. He also finds out that it’s a coping mechanism for stress or other things, and that people will do it on purpose but it definitely didn’t seem like Wooyoung had _regressed_ on purpose. 

Wooyoung’s thumb had found its way into his mouth and Seonghwa cringed internally- not because he thought it was gross if it was indeed regression, but he was a clean freak and he really didn’t want Wooyoung to get sick or anything. He hadn’t washed his hands after eating. He gently pulls his thumb out of his mouth, earning a little whine from the younger boy. 

“Sorry, sorry.” Seonghwa squeaks, looking up at Jongho after. 

“ _Hyung.”_ Jongho blinks, feeling confused and worried. “He was… sucking his thumb. Did you find anything? Has he gone crazy?”

“I don’t think he’s gone crazy.” Yeosang hums, fiddling with his phone. “The comeback is probably just taking its toll on him. I’m pretty worried, though.”

“Uh, well.” Seonghwa starts, turning his phone screen to show Jongho. “I found this and it seems.. the most correct?” 

Jongho takes the phone from Seonghwa and looks, scrolling down the article, mouth open in a little ‘oh’ shape. 

“So he’s … his brain thinks he’s like five years old?” 

Seonghwa nods. “I think so. I think that’s how it works. I’m not entirely sure why it’s happening but… for now I guess we’ve just got to take care of him..”

“Like he’s a kid.” Jongho says, and Seonghwa nods. 

“Like he’s a kid, yeah. When he’s feeling a little more into reality, we can ask him about it, yeah?”

Jongho nods. 

~ 

Yeosang ends up having to carry Wooyoung up into the dorm because the younger boy refuses to wake up properly, and Seonghwa needed to use the bathroom. Yeosang, now that he was semi aware of what was happening with his friend, found it kind of cute- though there were worries lurking inside his mind, wondering what had stressed him out so much that it had gotten to that state. He places Wooyoung down on his bed, pulling the boy’s shoes off. He kisses Wooyoung’s forehead fondly before leaving him to nap on the bed and join the rest of the boys. 

Mingi was watching something on the tv, feet up on the coffee table so Yeosang flips down next to him with a sigh. 

“You good, bro?” Mingi hums, not tearing his eyes away from the screen. Yeosang hums in response. 

“Yeah.”

~

Wooyoung ends up napping and sleeping through the whole night until around four in the morning. He wakes up with a start, eyes wide and wondering how he ended up in his bed. He was still in his practice clothes too- why didn’t they make him shower? He rubs his eyes and yawns, slipping out of his bed and to the bathroom. When he’s finished, he makes his way back to his bedroom, but apparently he’s been noisier than he thought because suddenly Seonghwa is calling his name. 

“Ah, you’re awake.” 

“So are you, hyung.” Wooyoung hums, tilting his head. His brain still felt sort of fuzzy. 

“How’re you feeling?” Seongwha asks, stifling a yawn. He looked concerned for some reason. 

“Why? Did I get drunk, or something? I don’t.. I’m not sure how I got to bed? Why didn’t I shower?” 

Seonghwa chuckles at that. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” 

“Oh?”

Seonghwa leads him to the couch where they both sit, not bothering to turn the tv on again. Wooyoung felt comfortable with Seonghwa, cuddling up to him sleepily. 

“I don’t completely know the full story, but Yeosang said that when you woke up in the car at the restaurant, you were acting a little bit funny. When I’d noticed, you were crying- I’m still not sure why- “

“I cried?” Wooyoung asked, incredulous. He did remember waking up in the car, and sitting with San. 

“I took you off to calm you down, and you started speaking like a child and calling me ‘hyungie’.” He leaves out the part about Wooyoung sucking on his thumb for now, as Wooyoung looks at him feeling confused in the twilight light. “You then.. insisted on sitting on my lap and had me feed you. You sat on San’s lap as well.” 

Wooyoung blinks with a snort. “I.. what? I don’t remember speaking like that. I remember sitting on your lap though, I think.” He feels kind of warm and soft inside, remembering how soft Seonghwa had treated him. 

“The boys were pretty worried because well, you’d never spoke like that before so I tried to search it on the way home and came up with something called _age regression._ Do you.. do you know what that is, Young-ah?” 

Wooyoung shakes his head with a soft yawn. Seonghwa was warm. 

“So.. it’s. When someone regresses to the age of a child and it’s for.. coping with stress, I guess. That’s the gist of it. Does that.. make sense?”

Wooyoung seems even more confused. 

“Do you.. did something stress you out particularly?” Seonghwa asks carefully, brows furrowed. Wooyoung frowns, shaking his head. 

“I- not particularly? There’s.. well, there’s the comeback and I guess.. well I’m worried that my dancing isn’t going to be good enough?” 

“And secondly,” Seonghwa nods in understanding, arm around the younger boy. “How much sleep did you get before yesterday?” 

Wooyoung let’s out a shy chuckle at that, cheeks turning red. 

“That’s what I thought. It was probably stress and exhaustion, then.”

“Oh.”

“It also said that people voluntarily regress but.. it wasn’t voluntary with you, right?” 

Wooyoung shakes his head. “I don’t, I didn’t even know it was a thing. I.. well I guess I remember feeling…like, fuzzy in my head, and everything felt more.. soft, I guess. My brain was fuzzy. I guess I didn’t really.. god, did I really act like a kid? That’s embassing.” Wooyoung whines, hiding his face behind his hands. “Oh my god.. _hyung.”_

“I’m- well it was a little weird I’m not going to lie, but I’m not going to judge you if it’s something that you do.. or want to do, I suppose.” Seonghwa tells him in a soft voice. Suddenly, Wooyoung’s brain felt fuzzy around the edges again. Seonghwa’s voice felt soft and warm to him. 

“I- okay.” Wooyoung nods, still hiding his face, but cuddling closer to Seonghwa. 

“Here, I’ll show you the article, okay?” Seonghwa grabs his phone and opens it to the page again, passing it to the black haired boy. Wooyoung pouts, cheeks still dusted red as he read it. He clicks on another article, reading a little bit more as Seonghwa just cuddles him softly. It felt a little overwhelming to Wooyoung, learning more about something he’d done without even thinking. He felt really weird. And all the boys had _seen_ him act like that. He groans again out of shyness. 

“Hyung?” Wooyoung suddenly asks softly. 

“Hm?”

“It- you said it’s okay if it happens, right?”

“If it helps you, I don’t have a problem with it.”

“Because.. well, thinking now.. hyung, I .. it felt really good and warm to just.. be like that.”

“If it’s what you want to do, I can help you, Young. I showed Jongho and Yeosang the article as well, so they know what’s going on.”

Wooyoung nods, unable to help himself from rubbing his eyes and Seonghwa chuckles fondly. 

“Hyung?” He asks again, a tired pout on his lips. “I don’t know _how_ to let it happen.” 

“Don’t force it, love. Just focus on the feelings that you felt when you were.. feeling that way. Or think of.. like, kid stuff I guess?” Seonghwa suggests, running a hand through his hair. Wooyoung nods, still pouting. He felt sleepy, it was four in the morning after all. He frowned as he tried to remember what had brought it on to begin with. Seonghwa’s soft voice calling him _love_ definitely helped. He thought about cuddling on San’s lap and Seonghwa feeding him and he closed his eyes, letting his head rest against Seonghwa’s body. Seonghwa held him close, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. Wooyoung hummed as he tried to let the fuzzy feeling in his brain take over. It felt nice. Seonghwa was warm. 

Wooyoung tried to focus on slowing his breath and the feeling of Seonghwa’s arm around him, before he found himself giggling. He knew it was late. Seonghwa usually would scold him for being up this late and it was absolutely funny that he was suddenly allowed today. Oh, was this the feeling? He closes eyes, letting out a soft hum as he nuzzles his nose into Seonghwa’s shirt, earning a soft chuckle from the elder. Seonghwa cards his fingers through Wooyung’s black locks and the younger boy leans into the touch. Felt nice. 

_“Hyungie?_ ” Wooyoung suddenly squeaks out, looking up at Seonghwa shyly. 

“Are you.. regressed, love?” Seonghwa asks in a soft voice, suddenly looking shy as well. He’d asked Wooyoung to try, wanting him to feel comfortable and happy but he wasn’t really as prepared as he’d thought he was. Wooyoung gives him a soft little nod, lips stuck out in a tiny pout and Seonghwa coos. 

“Feel.. soft.” Wooyoung proclaims in wonder, nuzzling back into Seonghwa’s shirt. Seonghwa was warm and comfy and he wanted to stay there. 

“Yeah?”

Wooyoung hums into the soft fabric, just letting the feeling overtake him. It came easy, because he was tired and he felt the comfort rolling off of Seonghwa. Automatically, his thumb finds its way up to his mouth and now, knowing what he does, Seonghwa feels fond and he smiles. So Wooyoung had regressed. Seonghwa hopes that he feels less stressed now. Now, to figure out how to take care of the boy. 

“Are you comfy with hyung, love?” Seonghwa asks, earning a little nod from the younger boy who’d burrowed himself into him. Seonghwa smiled, patting Wooyoung’s back. He really needed to.. find something to replace his thumb. “Good. Would you like some water?” 

Wooyoung had gone to bed immediately when they got home so Seonghwa knew he hadn’t hydrated enough that evening. Another little nod, but the sleepy boy made no effort to get up. Seonghwa pats his back again. 

“Do you.. do you want hyung to carry you?” Wooyoung doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t let go of the eldest male, so Seonghwa supposes he’s going to have to carry him. Seonghwa lets out a soft huff of exertion as he keeps Wooyoung close and wrapped around him, standing up and holding him with an arm supporting his butt. Wooyoung gets the message and wraps his legs and arms tighter around Seonghwa, lazily sucking on his thumb. Seonghwa carries him to the kitchen then, chuckling and shaking his head when Wooyoung whines and clings tighter, not wanting to be set on the counter. “I can’t get you a drink with you in my arms, love, just for a moment, right?”

Wooyoung pouts, nodding and lets Seonghwa set him down next to him on the counter. Wooyoung looked so small and innocent in his hoodie, his dark hair messy from being cuddled and sleepy. He swung his legs a little, looking around. In the late hour, he looked really young. 

Seonghwa knows Wooyoung was in a younger headspace at the moment and briefly wonders if Wooyoung was even able to hold an actual glass by himself. Did they have any plastic cups? He wasn’t quite fond of the thought of anything getting spilled on the floor- or possibly waking up one of the other boys. He finds a water bottle- the kind with the top that you suck on in the cupboard- maybe it was Yunho’s, and he fills it with water, then holding it out to the younger. Wooyoung looks up with sleepy eyes, taking the water bottle with both hands and drinking from it with a mumbled ‘ _thank you hyungie’_. Seonghwa smiles fondly, ruffling the boy’s hair before getting himself his own glass of water and sipping it carefully. 

Wooyoung opens his arms, reaching for Seonghwa to pick him up again. “Cuddle hyungie?” He asks innocently, yawning. And who was Seonghwa to say no to that? 

He picks the younger boy up, rubbing his back as Wooyoung lazily drinks from the water bottle, going back and sitting on the couch with him on his lap. Wooyoung curls up automatically, leaning his head against Seonghwa’s shoulder, eyes closed. Seonghwa smiles, just holding him close for that moment. Wooyoung was soft and cute and Seonghwa felt his heart burst with fondness. Even if this wasn’t something he expected, he felt closer to Wooyoung somehow, for showing him this vulnerable state and letting him take care of him like this. Wooyoung falls asleep quickly, bottle half out of his mouth and Seonghwa finds his eyes drooping as well, the excitement of the day catching up to him. He holds Wooyoung protectively and falls asleep as well. 

Wooyoung dreams of Seonghwa cuddling him and feeding him a bottle of milk, clips of cotton candy and soft blankets in the back of his mind. 

  
  
  



	2. the next day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seonghwa and Yunho give Wooyoung a bubble bath after Yunho sees Wooyoung regress.

Wooyoung woke up slowly. He felt warm, but his body was sore. He yawns, reaching his hands to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He blinks and looks around, finding that he’s in the living room. And Seonghwa’s arms were wrapped around him. Oh, that’s right, he’d _regressed_ with Seonghwa after they’d talked last night and figured out what had happened. He yawns and blinks again as Yunho wanders into the living room from the kitchen, he’s got a small bowl of strawberries in his hand and he pops one in his mouth 

“Oh, you’re awake.” Yunho remarks with a wide grin. Wooyoung wonders how he’s so energetic already since it’s morning, but a quick glance at the time on the TV receiver tells him it’s 12:15pm. He gives Yunho a confused look with a squeak. “You looked pretty comfy with hyung so we just… let you sleep.” Yunho explains, eating another strawberry. “D’you want one?”

“Sure.” Wooyoung mumbles, smiling as his cheeks turned red. He opens his mouth automatically as Yunho popped a fruit on his tongue. He felt a warm feeling in his chest. This was nice, being taken care of was nice. 

“So.. how’re you feeling?” Yunho straight up asks him, sitting on the couch next to them and propping his bare feet up on the coffee table, almost knocking off one of Hongjoong’s fashion magazines. Wooyoung’s cheeks remain a soft shade of pink, wondering how Seonghwa was still asleep- he must have been really tired. 

“I’m.. I’m feeling better now, thank you.” Wooyoung tells Yunho with a shy smile. “Seonghwa hyung- he really helped me.” Wooyoung felt soft and shy at the memory of Seonghwa explaining everything to him and making him feel safe and comfortable with himself in that moment. And cuddling him to sleep, of course. The water bottle he’d drunk from was still on the table. 

“That’s good.” Yunho comments, holding his hand out to ask for the remote, which Wooyoung passes to him. “We were all worried, you were crying at the restaurant.”

Wooyoung pouts and whines as he remembers that moment- he hardly remembers why but, in that moment he’d felt so sensitive and fuzzy. 

“Yeosang said you were in the headspace of a kid, is that.. true?” Yunho then asks, curious. There was no judgement or weirdness in his tone, just genuine curiosity. Wooyoung gives a shy nod of affirmation. 

“I think Seonghwa hyung can explain it better.. I didn’t know it was happening, but he looked it up and everything.” At that moment Wooyoung pokes Seonghwa. The eldest boy would probably not be pretty pleased with how late he’d been sleeping. “Hey, hyung.” 

Seonghwa let’s out a soft groan, stretching his arms out as he blinks himself awake. He smiles gently at Wooyoung. 

“What time is it?”

“Late.” Yunho chuckles, slurping strawberry juice off his fingers. 

“After noon.” Wooyoung tells him, poking him again. “They let us sleep in. On the couch too!” 

Seonghwa shakes his head with a huff, but he chuckles fondly. 

“Ah, so I guess it’s Hongjoong’s turn to boss everyone around today then, hm?” 

“Well, he’s in the studio room, so he’s not doing the best job of it.” Yunho says and Seonghwa snorts. 

“That’s probably why we’re still on the couch. He got up early enough to go to the studio.” Wooyoung wonders. 

“So hyung,” Yunho asks softly. “About Wooyoung?”

“Ah,” Seonghwa starts. “Just let me grab some coffee, and I’ll explain it to you completely. I mean, I’m no expert myself but… wait Wooyoung, are you regressed today?”

Wooyoung shakes his head with a shy laugh, flopping across Yunho’s lap as Seonghwa gets up. “Not right now, I’m not. And I’d like some coffee please too.” 

Seonghwa let’s out a chuckle and nods, making his way to the kitchen and straight to the coffee maker. Wooyoung gets comfy against Yunho and Yunho rubs his stomach softly as they watch whatever drama happened to be on the channel at the moment. 

Seonghwa comes back with two mugs of coffee and sets them down on the coffee table. He sits down and crosses his legs, pulling his phone out again. He taps the screen a few times to pull up the article again, passing it to Yunho who takes it, reading over it with a soft smile. 

“Wait hyung, charge your phone, it’s at like 13%.” 

Wooyoung cackles. 

Yunho continues reading, clicking more links and humming to himself in interest. Wooyoung relaxes, happy to have a day off from comeback preparation, and Seonghwa sips his coffee, suddenly interested in the tv. 

“Ah, this drama is a good one.” Seonghwa grins, smiling as he leans forward to watch. Wooyoung giggles, putting his feet on Seonghwa’s lap. 

“So.. Wooyoung. Do you know how to get back into the headspace?” Yunho asks in interest. “It also says some regressed people need caregivers. Is Seonghwa hyung your _caregiver?_ ” 

“Oh, you’ve read more then I have, Yun.” Seonghwa chuckles, turning his attention to the tall peach haired boy. “I- well, I suppose so. What’s the description of caregiver?”

“Someone who takes care of the person in the younger headspace. Like… feeding them, dressing them, giving them rules and shit.” Wooyoung blushes, feeling shy. Would Seonghwa have to dress him and put him in time out? He knows sometimes he’s so tired after practice he definitely doesn’t want to shower or put different clothes on. It would absolutely be nice to have someone do that for him. 

“I think I’d like it if Seonghwa hyung was my caregiver.” Wooyoung hums softly, looking up at Yunho. Seonghwa breaks out into a fond grin, his cheeks turning pink. “I mean.. if it’s okay?” 

“Of course!” Seonghwa tells him, sipping his coffee. “I told you that I’d help you, no matter what. If you need me to take care of you while you’re regressed, that’s what I’m going to do. I take care of you all anyways.” Wooyoung squeaks and blushes at that. 

“And Woo?” Yunho then asks suddenly, looking down at him. “I.. well, I bet you’re really cute when you’re in the headspace…can I.. can I see?” 

~ 

Wooyoung had closed his eyes and cuddled up to the older two boys, remembering how Seonghwa had told him to focus on thinking about things that would help him regress. He felt the fuzzy soft feeling tugging on the edges of his brain. He tried to focus on the feeling, wanting to stretch it out and cover his whole being with feeling warm and fuzzy, like a hug. Seonghwa rubs his feet softly, watching the drama- he didn’t want to watch Wooyoung in case it made him nervous. Yunho took to rubbing his head, playing with hair and gosh, that just felt so _amazing_. It felt soft, tugging on the feeling in his brain. He felt safe. He closed his eyes, letting out soft little noises. His heart felt full and soft and he wanted to just cuddle up and melt into Yunho hyungie, wanted to be cuddled and fed strawberries. Yunho looked down at Wooyoung, who had a soft serene smile on his face. Wooyoung gave a little happy hum and wiggled a bit, and Yunho grinned brightly, teeth showing. 

“Cute.”

“Cute?” Wooyoung mumbles, blinking up innocently at the elder. “Woo?” 

Yunho fought every single urge in his body to coo. Wooyoung must have found his headspace. Yunho had a younger brother, so he did somewhat know how to act and play with little kids; remembering how he’d play with his brother when they were smaller. He ruffles Wooyoung’s hair and nods. “Yes, you’re cute.” Wooyoung blushes, squeaking shyly and giggles, wiggling his feet in Seonghwa’s lap. Seonghwa turns to them with a fond smile. 

“Hi, love.” 

“Hi hyungie.” Wooyoung grins toothily at the eldest, contininuing to wiggle his feet happily. He wasn’t exactly sure how old he felt, but he felt warm and soft throughout his whole body, and getting attention from his hyungs felt nice. He makes grabby hands for his mug of coffee, when Seonghwa suddenly hums and shakes his head. 

“I think- I don’t think it’s a good idea to give a child coffee, do you, Yunho?” 

Yunho catches on with a chuckle, hands still in Wooyung’s hair. Wooyoung huffs and pouts, whining. 

“But I want it, hyungie! Please? ‘M _thirsty.”_ Ah, so Wooyoung was a brat while he was regressed too. Seonghwa turns his eyes to the water bottle. “How about hyung gets you some chocolate milk? Would that be okay with you?” 

Wooyoung hums and tilts his head to think about it for a moment before nodding with a little grin. 

“Okay. That’s yummy.” 

Seonghwa chuckles, moving Wooyoung’s wiggly feet off his lap and gets up again, bringing Wooyoung’s coffee cup to the kitchen and the water bottle, to replace them with a bottle of chocolate milk- he washes the bottle out and pours the chocolate milk in it, leaving the coffee on the counter- he’ll drink it later, probably. Or one of the other guys will. He comes back to find Wooyoung and Yunho sitting on the floor, going through the magazine. 

“Hyungie, why do these ladies wear such funny clothes?”

“That’s just fashion, Woo-ah. Don’t you like it?”

“It’s so much.. glitters.” 

Seonghwa laughs, thinking how adorable they are as he walks into the living room. Wooyoung looks up at him from his cross legged position and immediately makes grabby hands for the water bottle. Seonghwa ruffles his hair and hands it to him. Wooyoung immediately lets out a happy sigh, sucking on it like a real bottle and Yunho and Seonghwa actually coo out loud. Now that Wooyoung was calm, and not regressing involuntarily out of stress or exhaustion, it wasn’t worrying- it was cute, extremely cute. Wooyoung wiggles happily, making a cute little noise as he drank. When he decides he’s done he just holds it up to Seonghwa with innocent eyes. 

“Are you finished?” Seonghwa asks and Wooyoung nods, blinking. 

“All done, hyungie take?” Seonghwa chuckles, taking the bottle and setting it on the table- it was empty. Wooyoung grins and bounces a little bit, flopping himself at Seonghwa, who sits down on the floor next to him. “Hyungie warm.” Wooyoung proclaims, cuddling up as Seonghwa wraps his arms around him. 

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh,” Seonghwa pats his back and Wooyoung closes his eyes with a little smile, enjoying the cuddle. Seonghwa then realizes Wooyoung is definitely in the same clothes he’d worn to practice the day before and he hasn’t showered. Yunho must have had the same thought because he hums. 

“Hyung? What if we gave him a bubble bath?”

“What?”

“You know like… he needs to shower, but he’s regressed. I think he’d like a bubble bath- I loved taking them when I was a kid, especially when my brother and I had toys to play with.”

“You know Yun, that’s actually a great idea. He can’t cuddle and nap all day, and he probably feels gross.” He then turns to the cuddling boy on his lap, making a face as he smells the old sweat on Wooyoung’s clothes. “Would you like that, love? Do you want hyung to give you a bath?” 

Wooyoung scrunches his nose and hums in distaste for a moment- a bath meant he had to get his hair wet and also move from the warmth that was hyungie’s lap. But then he realized how sticky and gross he felt, and also he needed to use the bathroom after drinking all that chocolate milk. If he was going to go to the bathroom, he might as well bathe. He rolls off of Seonghwa’s lap and makes grabby hands with a huff. 

“Can I carry him?” Yunho asks and Seonghwa shrugs. 

“Yunho hyungie help?” Wooyoung asks, deciding he’s comfortable with the peach haired boy too. “Go bathroom?”

Yunho stands up and gathers Wooyoung in his arms, making sure the wiggling boy is secure and not going to fall. When they get over to the bathroom down the hall, Wooyoung squirms and whines to get set down, so Yunho does so and Wooyoung goes in and closes the door. 

“What- you’re too small to have a bath by yourself.” 

“‘M goin’ pee!” Wooyoung calls back and both the elder boys snort and laugh, with realization. Yes, he’d probably want privacy for that. 

“Okay, just open the door when you’re done so hyung can run your bath, okay?”

“‘Okay, hyungie.” 

They hear the water running when Wooyoung washes his hands, and Seonghwa prepares himself for water everywhere as Wooyoung opens the door, beaming up at them shyly. Also, his pants are off now. Seonghwa chuckles and ruffles the boy’s black hair while Yunho goes in to run the bath, humming as he looks for the vanilla scented bubble bath. As the water runs, Wooyoung feels it’s probably a good time to take his hoodie off as well, so he tries to do so, but gets stuck in the process with a whine, lifting his hands up and reaching for Seonghwa to help. Seonghwa chuckles fondly and lifts his arms up all the way, sliding it off, as well as the white t-shirt underneath, leaving Wooyoung naked. 

“Oh, cold.” Wooyoung squeaks, hugging his arms around himself. 

“Good thing the bath is almost ready.” Yunho sing songs to him with a grin. “There’s gonna be lots of bubbles for you~”

“Oh, bubbles?” Wooyoung squeaks as turns to Yunho. Letting Seonghwa slide his shirt off made him slip even deeper, and his entire brain was just cotton candy fluff at this point. Soft. When Yunho turns the water off, Seonghwa helps the younger boy into the tub and makes sure he’s seated properly. The warm water felt so good on his skin, he lets out a soft sigh, closing his eyes as he sinks further down. It soothed his sore muscles from dancing and made him feel so so warm inside. He felt so good, he wiggled his feet and squeaked happily, causing Seonghwa to coo. 

“Does it feel good, Young-ah?” 

“Mmm~” Wooyoung answers, suddenly turning his attention to the bubbles. He squeaks happily, eyes going wide as he clapped his hands. He pokes the bubbles, giggling as they popped and jiggled under his touch. “Bubble! Bubble, hyungie!” He kicked his feet in delight, turning to Seonghwa with a grin. Seonghwa felt his heart burst with fondness inside his chest. 

“That’s right, love. They’re bubbles.” 

“Bubble.” Wooyoung repeats, eyes wide in wonder as he splashed around in the water for a little more. Seonghwa watched him with a fond grin, just letting him play and relax before speaking again. 

“Will you let hyung wash your hair, Wooyoung?” Wooyoung just let out a non-committal hum, unfocused as he wiggles his toes. Seonghwa takes that as an _I’m going to do it anyways because it needs to be done,_ and Yunho hands him a cup, which he fills with water and gently pours it over Wooyoung’s head, pushing his hair back. Wooyoung whines in protest, but closes his eyes to let him. Seonghwa takes the shampoo and massages it into Wooyoung’s hair then, the younger boy deciding it felt good, so he just makes soft little noises, enjoying the little head massage. 

“Does that feel good?” Yunho chuckles, sitting on the toilet to watch them fondly. 

“Goo’” Wooyoung slurs, feeling his body slip further into the warm clouds. Seonghwa rinses the shampoo out from his hair, and realizing that Wooyoung was indeed, feeling very young, he got a wash cloth and began to wash Wooyoung’s body for him. This wasn’t anything weird, since the guys were all used to taking showers together, he knew Wooyoung would be comfortable with it. He washes Wooyoung’s armpits, earning little giggles because it tickled, and behind his ears and his chest. Wooyoung squeaks, wiggling his toes, letting out a soft yawn. All this warm water and hyungies taking care of him made him feel very sleepy, so he leans back in the water. Seonghwa squeaks and holds him up so he doesn’t sink in. 

“Baby, you can’t sleep in the water, it’s dangerous.” Seonghwa pats his shoulder and he pouts, blinking up at the oldest. 

“Comfy.” Wooyoung proclaims, patting the bubbles. “All clean?” Wooyoung asks, words slurring a little bit. They notice that his voice sounds a little bit higher than it usually is when he’s in a headspace like this. 

“You ready to get out, bud?” Yunho asks him, reaching for a nearby towel that was hanging on the towel bar. Wooyoung nods, looking up at the peach haired boy innocently. He smiles sweetly as Yunho holds the towel out for him, and reaches his arms up for Seonghwa, who’s quick to help him step out of the tub where they wrap him in the towel, Seonghwa using a second one to ruffle and dry his hair a little. Wooyoung giggles at the feeling, wanting to sit down. 

“Cold, hyungie.” Wooyoung hums, trying to burrow himself into Seonghwa’s arms with a little squeak. Seonghwa chuckles and wraps his arms around the little one, patting his back. 

“Yeah? Let’s get some comfy clothes on you then. Okay?”

“Okay.” Wooyoung nods, not moving from Seonghwa’s embrace. Seonghwa gently leads him along to his bedroom while Yunho drains the bath tub and cleans up in the bathroom. Seonghwa opens Wooyoung’s closet with a hum after he’s sat Wooyoung down on the bed. Wooyoung flops down on his back and giggles, playing with his fingers. He puts his thumb in his mouth, humming a little. 

“Do you want a hoodie, Young-ah?” Seonghwa asks him, holding out a soft grey one. 

“P’ease.” Wooyoung mumbles around his thumb, laying on his duvet. He rolls over onto his side to watch Seonghwa. Seonghwa quickly chooses some boxers and a pair of sweats for the boy as well, wanting to get him dressed quickly so he didn’t feel cold anymore. He goes over to Wooyoung when he’s finished. 

“Could you stand up for me, Young?” He asks gently, holding out the underwear. Wooyoung rolls off the bed and stands up, grinning up at Seonghwa as the towel falls- he’d made no effort to hold it up. Seonghwa thinks for a moment- how to do this? “Okay, uh, hold onto my shoulder and lift your leg up so we can put your boxers on, yeah?” Wooyoung huffs but follows the directions, giggling. 

Seonghwa slides it up over his foot, and they repeat the step for the other side. Wooyoung pulls them up the rest of the way over his bum to cover himself. Wooyoung forgets about the rest of his clothes and attempts to waddle away and out the door, but Seonghwa catches him. 

“You’re gonna catch a cold in just your underwear, you know. Arms up!” Wooyoung pouts, but he lifts his arms up and Seonghwa slides the hoodie over them, making sure they’re on properly and when Wooyoung’s head pops through the neck hole, Seonghwa boops his nose, and Wooyoung giggles squeakily, little teeth showing, and it melts Seonghwa’s heart. When he’s finally all dressed, he puts his thumb back in his mouth and Seonghwa cringes internally, but he’d just taken a bath so his hands were clean. He takes Wooyoung’s hand and leads him to the living room and to the couch. Wooyoung curls up against the edge, immediately fixated on the television. Seonghwa leans over the back of the couch with a fond chuckle, before he realize it’s Train to Busan on the screen and he has to rush to change it to something different before Wooyoung got scared. Mingi sometimes couldn’t even handle stuff like that so he figured when Wooyoung was in the mind of a small child, he definitely wouldn’t be able to handle it. Wooyoung pouts and whines when it’s changed, but then the channel is set to Pororo and he’s placated. He falls asleep watching the show, thumb in his mouth the whole time, 


	3. 3.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wooyoung spills his drink during lunch and regresses.

Wooyoung hadn’t regressed for a week and some after the last time, although Seonghwa was a little bit disappointed- he thought Wooyoung was the cutest thing ever when he was little. He seemed okay, though. No outbursts, just his regular whining and bickering With San and Yeosang. 

It was during lunch; everyone was in the dorm sitting at the table as Hongjoong had answered the door and brought the noodles and chicken they’d ordered inside and to the table. There were whoops and claps and Yeosang wiggled excitedly, mouth already drooling for the fried chicken. 

Wooyoung sat next to Yeosang, bouncing in his seat as he’s excited as well; the chicken smelled so so good. He leans against Yeosang with a giggle. When Hongjoong sets everything on the table, he also pulls out bottles of Cola for everyone, despite it being comeback soon and they needed to watch their health- but they all loved chicken and cola and literally nothing could stop them from consuming deliciousness.

The boys all fill their plates with food, and happy chatter and laughs fill the kitchen. Yunho starts a conversation and Mingi and Jongho happily add on. Wooyoung and San engage as well, shoving each other like kids. San’s eyes crinkle up as he giggles. The atmosphere of the dinner is pleasant, and soon enough, half the meal is gone already. 

Wooyoung unscrews the cap on his Coke, lifting it up to take a sip, but something San says makes him laugh really loudly, and the bottle slips through his fingers and onto the floor in front of him with a loud  _ thud.  _ The caramelly sweet liquid fizzes out onto the floor and Wooyoung looks down and blinks at it for a moment, eyes wide. San snorts.

“Oh shit, Woo!” San giggles, reaching for some napkins on the table. Seonghwa groans from the other side of the table. Wooyoung blinks again, before looking at San, lip starting to wobble. The suddenness and the loud sound of it falling had scared the black haired boy and he started to snuffle and cry. 

Yeosang’s mouth opens in realization that Wooyoung had probably regressed at that moment and wraps his arms around his friend. 

“Hey, Youngie, it’s alright, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Yeosang murmurs softly and rubs Wooyoung’s sides gently. 

“M-made loud noise, hyungie.” Wooyoung sniffles, moving himself around on the chair to bury his face in Yeosang’s neck. “Scare me.” 

Yeosang coos softly and rubs his back, holding him close in effort to comfort him. Wooyoung clings to the blonde boy and continues to snuffle into his shirt.

San quickly gets a towel passed to him from the counter by Seonghwa and starts to clean the drink up off the floor, making sure it’s all clean and not sticky- he knows if he leaves it even just a  _ tiny bit sticky  _ that Seonghwa would whine at him, so he does his best. He hands it back to Seonghwa who throws it in the sink with a  _ plop _ when he’s finished. 

“Are you okay, Youngie?” San asks softly, petting the younger dark haired boy’s head. Wooyoung peeks out from Yeosang’s neck and rubs his eyes with a pout. 

“Wooyoungie no do bad?” He asks softly, crawling completely into Yeosang’s lap. 

“No, you didn’t do anything bad. It was an accident, and I’ve cleaned it all up, see?” San says in a gentle voice, bending over to Wooyoung’s level. 

“Hyungie clean?” He asks again, his thumb finding its way into his mouth as he leans against Yeosang. Seonghwa coos from his spot by the kitchen sink. 

“That’s right, hyung cleaned it all up. No more mess~” San grins his dimpled smile at his small friend, Wooyoung nods, accepting that answer before sucking his thumb more. 

San sits back down and they continue eating their meal calmly, Yeosang attempting to feed Wooyoung some of his chicken, but the smaller boy just wanted to suck on his thumb at the moment, feeling a little tired from all the excitement. Yeosang offers him a sip of his own Coke, but he shakes his head. 

“You’ve got to have something, Wooyoungie.” Yeosang hums, patting his back gently. “You don’t want any noodles?” 

Wooyoung shakes his head, calmly sucking on his thumb. Yeosang gives Seonghwa a look- he knew Seonghwa was the most experienced with taking care of Wooyoung when he was regressed. Seonghwa’s eyes widen as a lightbulb goes off in his head and he gets up and goes to the cupboard, still chewing on a mouthful of chicken. He pulls out the water bottle he’d previously used for Wooyoung and fills it with chocolate milk. 

“Oh, that’s a good idea, hyung!” Mingi adds on, having stopped talking to Jongho enough to watch what Seonghwa was doing. Seonghwa screws the lid on and hands it to Yeosang across the table. 

“Look Wooyoungie, hyung got some milk for you~ would you like that?” Yeosang coos gently, making sure Wooyoung was still comfortable on his lap. He holds the bottle up in front of the little’s face. 

“Choco milk?” Wooyoung speaks from around his thumb, blinking. 

“Choco milk, that’s right.” 

Wooyoung reaches an arm out and takes the bottle, holding it up to his mouth and sucking on it- Yeosang can feel his body relax against him and he grins fondly. 

“Thank you, hyung.” He directs his voice to Seonghwa, who gives him a thumbs up in response. 

“Do you think we should.. get more water bottles for when he’s like this?” Seonghwa thinks aloud, sipping his own cola, pinky sticking out as he holds the bottle. 

“What about a children’s themed one? Or a  _ sippy cup? _ ” Jongho adds on to the conversation with a hum. “I bet he’d like a Pokémon or One Piece themed one or something.” 

“That’s a good idea, Jjongie.” Yeosang agrees with a grin, slowly stroking Wooyoung’s back over his t-shirt as the younger continued to drink his chocolate milk. He seemed to be in a smaller headspace than Seonghwa had seen him in previously- he usually was a little bit more excitable. 

Wooyoung decides he’s finished his milk and pops off the bottle, holding it out to Yeosang, who takes it and sets it on the table. “All done?” He asks, continuing to stroke Wooyoung’s back. The dark haire’d boy nods, promptly putting his thumb back in his mouth. 

Seonghwa shakes his head with a fond chuckle. “Ah, I wish he wouldn’t do that- it’s not healthy to put your fingers in your mouth.” He huffs, exactly like a parent would. The other boys giggle. 

“While we’re on the topic then,” Jongho grins again, getting up and bringing his plate to the sink before he stretches his arms out. “Should we get him… like,  _ a pacifier? _ ” 

“A what?” Seonghwa asks, blinking and turning to the boy. “Also, rinse your plate off please.”

“A pacifier. You know, so he stops sucking on his thumb.” Jongho explains, rolling his eyes as he turns the sink on and rinses his plate with the sponge. 

“ _ Oh _ . Yeah. I think maybe that’s what I’ll do. Should we let him pick one out? Are there any that would even fit his mouth?” Seonghwa wonders aloud as he pulls his phone out of the pocket of his sweats and types his question into his phone. His cheeks turn red as he scrolls down- there were a lot of things he’d rather not see leaning towards more of the  _ kink _ side rather than the regular regression side. “Oh no, he’s definitely not getting any of these-“

“What is there, hyung?” Jongho asks, leaning over Seonghwa’s shoulder. “Does that say  _ daddy’s little slut? Jesus Christ.”  _

San lets out a snort and Yeosang promptly covers Wooyoung’s ears, but Wooyoung is feeling too small and fuzzy around the edges in his brain to really notice what has been said. He wiggles in Yeosang’s lap, letting out a soft little squeak around his thumb. 

“Maybe look on a different website.” Yeosang suggests witch a chuckle, shaking his head. “What did you search, anyways? Maybe search something specific like  _ plain adult pacifier _ , or  _ Doraemon _ or something.”

“Ah.” Seonghwa replies, immediately correcting his search terms, finding definitely less kink and ageplay oriented options. “Do you think he’d prefer blue or red? Glow in the dark?”

“Ah, there’s glow in the dark, I want one now-“ Mingi comments with a giggle, chugging the rest of his cola. San giggles with him. 

“What do you think, Youngie? What’s your favorite color, bub?” San asks Wooyoung, who turns to blink at him softly, little cheeks puffed around his thumb. “Do you like blue?” 

“B’ue” Wooyoung slurs, mouth full. San coos, grinning widely at how cute his friend was. “Like.”

“Alright, blue it is, hyung.” San comments to Seonghwa who nods, adding the blue pacifier to the cart. “Are you going to get him like, a cup too? Do they have that?” 

Seonghwa makes an affirmative noise, tongue blepped out as he thinks, scrolling down the website. “I’ll check to see, maybe I’ll get him a cool water bottle or a cup with a straw.”

San nods and gives him a thumbs up. “Cool. Sounds good, hyung.”

Wooyoung yawns and rubs his eyes, attempting to burrow into Yeosang’s shirt with a little whine. 

“You good, bub?” Yeosang asks him, rubbing his back. Wooyoung makes a soft little noise in response, nuzzling the soft fabric. “How-how old are you feeling?” 

Wooyoung continues to suck his thumb, looking up at Yeosang with innocent eyes. He babbles softly and Yeosang thinks he’s positively adorable, but a part of him feels anxious inside because Wooyoung didn’t answer him at all. 

“Hyung? Seonghwa hyung? Has he ever acted this way before?” Yeosang asks, petting his best friend’s hair. 

“Hn? Is he okay?” Seonghwa asks, placing the order for the pacifier as he looks up towards the younger boys. Wooyoung looked okay, he wasn’t in tears. He looked  _ small _ , cuddled up to Yeosang. His eyes were sleepy and his cheeks were puffed up around his thumb. He squeaked and made grabby hands at Seonghwa, wanting to feel comfortable with the hyung that had taken care of him the most- the eldest. Seonghwa smiles fondly. “Hold on, Wooyoungie, hyung will come over there. Okay?” 

Wooyoung pouts and makes grabby hands again, watching as Seonghwa gets up land puts his phone away in his pocket, reaching his arms out for the younger boy. Wooyoung doesn’t get up, just holding his arms out. 

“I think… he wants you to pick him up” Yeosang hums as Wooyoung wiggles. Seonghwa chuckles softly. 

“He seems to be feeling pretty young.” Seonghwa comments as he wrapped his arms around the younger, picking him up like a small child, arm under his legs. “Aren’t you, love?” 

Wooyoung squeaks shyly and nuzzles into Seonghwa’s neck, arms around the elder’s neck. 

“Do you know how to take care of him like this, hyung?” Yeosang asks, stretching his arms out and standing up to take his plate to the sink to rinse off. 

“It can’t be that different than taking care of a real baby?” Seonghwa hums with a chuckle. “Yunho is really good with him too.” Yeosang nods, smiling. 

Wooyoung felt so soft and fluffy as Seonghwa carried him. He nuzzles in, sucking on his thumb and closing his eyes as he yawned again. 

“Looks like it’s nap time~” Seonghwa comments as he rubs Wooyoung’s back softly. He carries Wooyoung to the bedroom he shared with Yeosang and places him gently on the bottom bunk, kissing his forehead gently. He places a plushie in his arms and pulls a blanket up over his small body. 

Wooyoung whines a little at the loss of Seonghwa’s arms around him, but he’s too small and sleepy to open his eyes. 

Seonghwa coos softly and climbs in behind him, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy, kissing the back of his head. “Hyung will cuddle you as you fall asleep, okay?”


	4. storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wooyoung wakes up during a storm and regresses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this while my WiFi was out.  
> I’ve been working lots so it’s hard to feel inspired while being absolutely exhausted! 
> 
> Hope everyone is feeling okay and staying hydrated ♡

I t was a stormy night outside- the wind was blowing and the clouds covered up the light of the moon. The windows had all been closed earlier by Seonghwa when he saw there would be a chance of rain, but he hadn’t known that there would be a  _ storm _ . 

All the boys were asleep in their rooms, Seonghwa on his top bunk, and Hongjoong passed out in his bottom one, with his laptop still open on the side table, a half-written lyric document auto-saved on the screen. 

In Wooyoung and Yeosang’s room, however that was a different story. Yeosang was asleep, but a particularly loud bang of thunder had woken Wooyoung up with a start. Wooyoung was never one to be fond of storms, or the dark. In fact, he was actually  _ terrified _ of storms. 

When he woke up, breath hitched and coming out in quick, short bursts, he found himself regressing without realizing, from the start. He clutched his blanket to his chest and sniffled, tears rolling down his cheeks as he felt his heart pounding inside his chest. The thunder burst again amidst the sound of the wind and he let out a squeak, jumping. 

“ _ H-hyungie!”  _ Wooyoung whined out, looking around the dark bedroom. It was  _ dark _ and  _ loud _ and he didn’t like that one bit. He could feel himself shaking as he sniffled, and he almost didn’t want to leave his bed, but he needed a hyungie. 

He whimpered and popped his thumb in his mouth, rubbing at his eyes with his other hand and reached for his Chimmy plush and he held it tightly to his heaving chest before he quickly slid out of his bed. He looked up at Yeosang’s bunk but he decided it was too high and daunting. Their bedroom door was open, so he waddles out into the hall, Chimmy clutched tightly in his arm. 

In his head, he knows Seonghwa’s bunk is also the top so he doesn’t go to the eldest’s room- instead opting to go into San and Yunho’s. He opens their door quietly, fumbling a little in his headspace. He sniffles again, panic rising in his chest and all he can focus on is how dark and stormy it was. 

Wooyoung finally opens the door, he shuffles inside, making a beeline for Yunho’s bed. 

“Hyungie.. Yunnie hyungie…” Wooyoung whispers out softly, poking Yunho to wake up. 

“Hnn?” Yunho grunts, shuffling a little in his sleep. He stretches his legs out under the blanket, but he doesn’t notice Wooyoung yet. Wooyoung sees lightning from the window and lets out a terrified squeak, and he hurriedly climbs into the bed, clinging onto the older male. 

**“** **_Hyungie!”_ **

“Wooyoung?” Yunho finally wakes up with a start, hearing the younger boy’s cry. “...you okay? What are you doing?” he frowns, feeling Wooyoung’s arms clutched around him. 

“... ‘s scary, Hyungie..” Wooyoung sniffles, mumbling into Yunho’s blanket. 

_ Oh, Wooyoung must have regressed during the night. _

“What’s scary?” Yunho asks, but gets his answer as soon as he got a glance out the window at the rain and the storm. 

“Storm.” Wooyoung huffs out, sucking on his thumb, smaller body curled up against Yunho’s. Yunho moves an arm to wrap around Wooyoung, rubbing his back gently to soothe him. “N-no wan’ sleep alone, Hyungie p’ease..” Wooyoung pouts into the blanket, and Yunho coos. 

“You’re safe with me, bub.” He murmurs, now a little more awake. “We’re inside, nothing’s gonna happen, okay?” 

Wooyoung sniffles, and Yunho can hear him sucking on his thumb. He knew Wooyoung didn’t like storms, but he’d never reacted like this before- his fear must have increased in his younger headache and Yunho wanted nothing more than to help him feel safe and comfortable again. He pulls Wooyoung closer and wraps his blanket around the younger, petting his black hair gently. 

Wooyoung breathes out a little, sniffling again but slowly calming down as Yunho pets his hair and keeps him close. Yunho pulls the blanket up a little higher, wrapping Wooyoung up to his neck in it, and he nuzzles his nose into Yunho’s sleep shirt, and Yunho doesn’t mind despite Wooyoung’s face being a mess of snot and tears. 

Yunho starts to sing softly to Wooyoung to help him relax and block out the sound of the rain and he smiles sleepily to himself when he sees that the younger had fallen asleep. He keeps stroking Wooyoung’s hair until he falls asleep as well.

☾ 

Wooyoung awakens the next morning with a bit of a headache, and he yawns, rubbing his eyes. He blinks them open and it takes him a moment to realize where he was. 

Yunho is smiling down at him, his peach hair sticking up in different places. 

“Morning, sleepyhead~” Yunho coos and Wooyoung scrunches his nose. Yunho wonders if Wooyoung was still little, and Wooyoung answers that question by immediately nuzzling back into his chest. 

“Slept with hyungie..?”

“Yes, you slept in my bed with me.” Yunho answers, idly stroking his hair. “How are you feeling, bub?”

Wooyoung yawns again, pulling his plushie closer to himself. He pouts, remembering how scared he had been the night before, but then he decides he doesn’t want it remembered and he grins widely, rolling out of the bed with the blanket around him, leaving Yunho’s body exposed. Yunho squawks as the warmth leaves. 

“Hungry!” Wooyoung decides, waddling out of the bedroom, leaving his hyung to follow him with the shake of his head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending kind of sucked but that’s okay uwu
> 
> Yell at me on Twitter @yoongspresso


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